Anonymous Biography: The Arguments of Juan José Saer

The Old Globe’s
Digital Presentations Continue with
the English and Spanish Language Versions of
Anonymous Biography: The Arguments of Juan José Saer,
a World Premiere Play
Directed by Johanna McKeon,
with Director of Photography and Editor Joshua “Lucky” Peters
and Featuring Rey Lucas

FREE Streaming Begins Monday, August 30, 2021
for a Limited Time Only
on The Old Globe’s YouTube Channel

PHOTO EDITORS: Photos of Anonymous Biography can be found here.

SAN DIEGO (August 24, 2021) — The Old Globe continues its streaming productions with English and Spanish language versions of Anonymous Biography: The Arguments of Juan José Saer, a world premiere play by Argentinian writer Juan José Saer, with English translation by Roanne Kantor. Acclaimed director Johanna McKeon (Globe’s Noura), with director of photography and editor Joshua “Lucky” Peters (When It Takes a Village featuring Swizz Beatz), crafts a one-of-a-kind virtual theatrical event featuring Rey Lucas (Globe’s Water by the Spoonful). Lucas will perform the original Spanish and the English translation of this new play from the Globe’s What Is Theatre Now? initiative. The free five-part digital production is available for streaming on The Old Globe’s YouTube channel beginning Monday, August 30, 2021 for a limited time only.

Anonymous Biography brings to life Saer’s captivating prose to create an intimate filmed experience that explores the mystery and beauty of everyday life. This solo performance presents a collection of characters whose separate perceptions, insights, and feelings come together to illuminate the human experience that connects us all.

“Even as we begin to reopen the Globe after a too-long intermission, we are excited to continue our exploration of digital theatre,” said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. “Johanna McKeon, a great talent and a thrilling thinker about this art form, carries us in a bold new direction with Anonymous Biography. Adapted from the short fiction of Juan José Saer, these gem-like pieces are somehow intimate and epic at the same time, and they will reward repeated viewings. We’re delighted that Johanna and the talented Rey Lucas will bring us this wonderful writing in both English and Spanish, allowing the Globe to reach more parts of our wide and rich community. I’m proud and happy to bring these works to our audiences in San Diego and beyond.”

To deepen engagement with Anonymous Biography, there will be a recorded Vicki and Carl Zeiger Insights Seminar with director Johanna McKeon and English translator Roanne Kantor posted alongside the debut episode. This Q-and-A, hosted by Old Globe Arts Engagement Teaching Artist Valeria Vega, will contextualize Saer’s work in world literature, expound on how the project came to be, and go in depth into the process of creating new theatrical forms.

Anonymous Biography is a free digital production that is available in Spanish and English language versions that will stream through The Old Globe’s YouTube channel. The first of a five-part presentation will premiere on Monday, August 30, 2021, with subsequent parts respectively debuting daily thereafter. Anonymous Biography will be available for viewing through October 31, 2021.For additional information, visit www.TheOldGlobe.org.

Arts engagement programs at The Old Globe are generously supported in part by The James Irvine Foundation, Qualcomm, and the Ann Davies Fund for Teaching Artists.

Digital programs at The Old Globe are supported by The Conrad Prebys Foundation and The Peggy and Robert Matthews Foundation.

What Is Theatre Now? is sponsored in part by Bank of America.

Financial support for The Old Globe is provided by The City of San Diego.

The Theodor and Audrey Geisel Fund provides leadership support for The Old Globe’s year-round activities.

Bios and photos of all participants can be found at www.TheOldGlobe.org/Press-Room.

The Tony Award–winning The Old Globe is one of the country’s leading professional not-for-profit regional theatres. Now in its 87th year, the Globe is San Diego’s flagship performing arts institution, and it serves a vibrant community with theatre as a public good. Under the leadership of Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and the Audrey S. Geisel Managing Director Timothy J. Shields, The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 16 productions of classic, contemporary, and new works on its three Balboa Park stages, including its internationally renowned Shakespeare Festival. More than 250,000 people annually attend Globe productions and participate in the theatre’s artistic and arts engagement programs. Its nationally prominent Arts Engagement Department provides an array of participatory programs that make theatre matter to more people in neighborhoods throughout the region. Humanities programs at the Globe and around the city broaden the community’s understanding of theatre art in all its forms. The Globe also boasts a range of new play development programs with professional and community-based writers, as well as the renowned The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program. Numerous world premieres — such as 2014 Tony Award winner for Best Musical A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Bright Star, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! — have been developed at The Old Globe and have gone on to highly successful runs on Broadway and at regional theatres across the country.

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